Officials advised Wood River Valley residents to remain alert after bear sightings

HAILEY, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Multiple bear sightings have been reported in the Wood River Valley. Idaho Fish and Game officials are investigating a report of a black bear near Alturas Elementary in Blaine County.

With the bear near the elementary school, the school district issued a shelter-in-place order.

Idaho Fish and Game conservation officers and the Hailey City Police monitored the animal while they waited for biologists from Jerome.

Morgan Ballis, the school resource officer for Alturas Elementary, explained the police’s role in this situation.

“Our primary role was to make sure the public was safe,” Ballis said. “That means being on scene and keeping them away from that area, but also communicating with them via social media and other outlets to let them know what was going on.”

Terry Thompson from Idaho Fish and Game explained the biologist’s job.

“We came up with a dart gun we were able to anesthetize the bear and because this is a bear that just wandered into town, was not food conditioned, it was a good candidate for relocation,” Thompson said.

The biologists darted the bear and relocated it to Galina Summit.

The bear was found around this neighborhood but showed no signs of aggression, according to Idaho Fish and Game.

Although there is no confirmed cause for the bear’s arrival, there are reasons why an animal might leave its habit and come to a city.

“It’s been hot, and it’s been dry, so a lot of their natural food sources are not as available to them as they would be on a normal summer,” Thomas said. “So they’re coming into town, coming to valley bottoms, repairing areas along rivers and with houses comes residential garbage. So right now, what we’re seeing is some of these bears that are in town are getting into residential garbage.”

Thompson said there are different ways to protect yourself and your house from bears coming in.

“Securing your household garbage and when I see say secure, I mean keeping it in your garage, keeping it in a locked shed. You don’t want to have that bear having the ability to get to that garbage cart. The other things is don’t feed your pets outside and leave the food, take down your bird feeders.”

If you see a bear near a neighborhood, report it to Idaho Fish and Game. Call your local sheriff’s department if the bear appears aggressive or threatening.

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